Gray Heroics #3

Night had came and gone, giving way to the passage of an ascending sun and its fresh morning. At this time, Galivinth was laying in bed sound asleep. Unaware of the surprise presently climbing up the side of the apartment building where his bedroom window could be found. With immaculate timing, knocking strikes at the glass exactly when the teen's digital clock hits 8:00am. 

Yet, Galivinth didn't even fidget in his sleep. Another knock shortly follows up, one much louder than the previous attempt.

Still, the male sleeps in absolute peace. The unannounced visitor arches a brow at how much of a heavy sleeper Galivinth is, though is far from conceding. With the bottom of a fisted hand, the individual bangs on the window several times with enough force to cause the entire frame to quake.

Yet, it also proves to be ineffective. The one viewing in from outside blinks with dumbfounded awe. 

"He's in a much deeper slumber than I though--"

"Who-What!?"

"UT-!?" THUD!!!

Before the individual could finish his thought, Galivinth had snapped awake shot up like a bullet, looking to his left and right for the source of disturbance. In that same instance, the person at his window was startled and had lost their grip, falling with a harsh sound of a body meeting concrete ground with a resounding echo.

"Was.. Was that somebody outside?" Concerned, Galivinth hustles out of bed and over to his window, unlocking and lifting it to stick his head out for a look. Immediately noticing someone getting up from the ground while patting their clothes down.

"Dude, are you okay!? Was that you just now?" The young man asks, catching the individual's attention upon doing so. The masculine figure looks up at him, and Galivinth's eyes widen with disbelief. It was Naeth, the guy from the previous day.

"Yes, absolutely. You caught me off guard and I lost my footing, is all." The other responds with a carefree tone, resuming brushing his attire off until he's satisfied.

"You just fell from two stories... You sure? I can get you a ride to the hospital or something." Galivinth offers.

"I am one hundred percent sure. Didn't feel a thing, honestly! I'm not some fragile being, you kno-" Naeth pauses entirely, promptly turning his attention up toward Galivinth with a contemplative frown.

"You are aware of our biological differences, right?"

"I... Y-yeah. Yeah, I know. It's been ingrained into my mind since leaving that city."

"Ah, good! Then don't be too concerned about my well-being. I'm far, far more durable than any human, and very likely twice more resilient than you."

"Uh huh." Galivinth responds dryly.

"Now that we've covered that..." Naeth trails off, solely for the purpose of climbing back up the side of the building with swiftness and apparent ease. As the foreign lifeform reaches his window ledge, Galivinth instinctively backs off to stand a foot away with a surprised look on his face.

"Can I come inside?" The peculiar male asks.

"How did you just do that?"

"Hm? What?"

"Climb the building, dude! What else?"

"Oh. I just dug my fingers and shoes into the wall. The material is pretty easy to crush."

"You can crush bricks with your bare hands?" Galivinth questions.

"Can you not?"

"Uuhh... Never thought to try."

"Huurm.... Hopefully you're not so weak that you share trivial struggles with the average human. But then again, that's why I'm here! To learn more about you and see how short you fall as a halfling." Naeth informs.

"It's really too early for this..." Galivinth mumbles under his breath while lifting his hands to cup his entire face and rub his eyes with his middle finger and thumb.

"So, do I have your permission to enter?" Neath presses.

"Yes, dude. Yes. Climb in."

"Much obliged, kin." Naeth enters and eventually comes to stand inside the bedroom. Today, he's dressed in urban clothing. A red polo shirt over a black turtleneck sweater with its sleeves neatly rolled up above his biceps. Fitted dark blue jeans on his legs and high-top white and red sneakers on his feet.

"Galvin? You're awake? Is someone else in there with you?" Bibi calls out from the kitchen.

Sighing with a heavy breath, her grandson responds nonchalantly."Yeah, there is..."

"Oh, well bring whoever it is out with for breakfast!" She tells him. Surely enough, the teen soon exits his bedroom with his guest, and the two of them take a seat at the square table in the kitchen. Within a few moments, the table is set and three plates are served with a meal of two pancakes, eggs, and four small sausages each. After taking a seat is when the grandmother prods Galivinth about his guest.

"Didn't know you were having someone over. You didn't think to tell me about it beforehand?"

"It's not like that at all. He sort of just showed up a few minutes ago. I didn't even know he was coming over."

"Oh? Well, introduce him! Who is he?" The elder woman presses, leaving Galivinth feeling obliged to do so. But before he can, Naeth does the honor instead.

"No need, miss. I'm not so meek that I couldn't speak up for myself. I'm Naeth! Adequate dabbler in sorcery, an athlete, and a relative of this interesting fellow right here. We're cousins in fact!" He explains, gesturing toward Galivinth, who pauses mid way of bringing a fork full of eggs to his mouth. The grandmother and grandson exchange stares for a few seconds. Then, Galivinth confirms everything.

"Yeah, he's my cousin on my father's side. Met him yesterday when we were out. He's... As he's stated, a practitioner of magic. Somehow." A silent pause creeps in, filled with only the skeptical look on his grandmother's face and the carefree grin on Naeth's.

"I'm serious. He was shooting fireballs and dodging all sorts of stuff. It's super weird where my dad lives." Galivinth explains further, hoping she didn't think he was making it all up.

"Uh huh. You sure it wasn't some sort of light show?" His grandmother remains unconvinced.

"I'm almost very certain of it." Galivinth assures as confidently as he can, then turns his attention toward Naeth to validate his words.

"Dude, it was real, right? Tell her I'm not crazy." 

The conversation draws out an amused outburst of laughter from the cryonean.

"This is all too funny. The magic you saw yesterday was absolutely real. Every last incantation. Is magic and sorcery truly foreign concepts here?"

"Bah, younglings and their silliness. If you boys want to talk about your little games, at least have the decency to separate reality from it." The grandmother dismisses the topic, feeling it was likely nothing more than some trending notion from present day youths.

"But ma'am--" Naeth attempts to speak another point, but finds himself being cut off.

"No, it's alright. We'll talk more about it later." Galivinth tells him. Pretty soon, the three finish their breakfast. Galivinth offers to do the dishes, which he does while his grandmother heads back into her bedroom to watch TV. Naeth sits observing them entire time. Afterwards, Galivinth informs his relative that he'll need some time to shower and then they'll continue their discussion outside. The American alien heads back inside his room briefly to fetch a change of clothes, takes them into the bathroom with him, and emerges 19 minutes later. 10 minutes spent showering, another 9 spent drying off, getting dressed, taking care of his hygiene, and combing some order into his hair. He dresses in his simple and usual fashion: tee shirt, jeans, high socks, sneakers, and a sweatband on each wrist. All black.

His discarded clothes were placed within a laundry bin inside.

"Alright, let's go talk." Galivinth offers, adjusting his left wristband during.

"Lead the way." Naeth obliges and rises out of his seat.

"Hey, Bibi! I'm heading out for a bit!"

"Okay, be safe!" The grandmother shouts from her room in turn. And with that, the two boys head outside. Eventually coming to stand at the front of the building. Galivinth is the first to break the silence with a concerned question.

"By the way, how did you know where I lived?"

"Simple. I traced the number you gave me back to where you usually use your phone." Naeth answers honestly.

"You hacked my phone!?" 

"What? No. I said I traced the typical place you use it. I didn't rummage through your data or device. Only followed the signal associated with it using my own communicator." Naeth explains, lifting his right arm and pointing to the monochrome device on his wrist.

"Oh... Is that legal?"

"You've got something to hide?" Naeth questions with an arching brow.

"No?"

"Then I find it odd you'd question my method of finding you. It's a very common thing to do back on Cryon."

"Hm." Not quite too keen on discussing social norms with the Cryon native, Galivinth merely gives a skeptical look. Without too long of a delay, he changes the subject.

"So the magic. What is that? How do you even do it?"

"You seriously have no idea?" With wide eyes, Naeth counters with a question of sheer disbelief.

"Nnnnope."

"Huh... I'm aware of how primitive this planet is, but to think that not even YOU would know of magic's presence. It's funny and shocking to me. I suppose I shouldn't underestimate how much of a lesser being the average Earthling is."

"Dude, just tell me how to use the Goddang magic..." A sense of annoyance laces Galivinth's usual monotone speech.

"Alright, alright. Listen up, because it's not as accessible as you may be thinking. There's actually multiple sources of magic in existence. Some exclusive to a race of people, some technically available to all, and even some you can con your way into tapping in. What I use is STRICTLY Cryonean magic, which comes from Yvetal, the Goddess of magic. It is said she blessed all cryonean blood with the gift of magic since the beginning of time and life on our home planet. It is an endless source our kind can tap into." Naeth begins his informative lecture.

"Oh... Even more religious stuff, huh?" Galivinth comments under his breath.

"Are you a non-believer?"

"No, I believe in a higher power. I lean toward Christianity, I guess. But I don't really claim it or any other religion as my own. It's all too muddy and complicated." Galivinth explains.

"Ah. Well, all of us give thanks to the Gods. Especially Yvetal and Trivisty, the latter being the God of knowledge. Both associated to the political parties of magic and science. Anyway, Yvetal may have blessed ALL cryonean blood with the usage of magic, but only half of our race are bestowed with greater potential for it. I'm one of those who are. I'll explain more soon, but first I'd like to see where YOU fall. Do you have Yvetal's or Trivisty's favor, I wonder..." Naeth tells him.

"Hey, I'm down to find out. What do I do to determine it?"

"Hold out your hand, like this." Naeth instructs, his example being his right hand extending out in front of him with his palm facing upward. Galivinth does the same right after.

"Good. Now, focus on your palm. I want you to make a claw-like gesture and strain the muscles in your hand and fingers."

"Okay..." Following orders, Galivinth does just that. A solemn stare fixed upon his straining hand that looks as if it were desperately clutching onto an invisible object.

"Now imagine a vacuum forming in the middle of your hand and pulling in energy."

"Energy?"Galivinth repeats.

"Just pretend there's something in the air itself you can pull from. Pretend your hand is pulling at it with the vacuum." With those provided steps, the half cryonean does as he is told. Almost immediately something begins floating into the corners of his vision. Tiny glowing white orbs begin gathering at his palm at a steady rate, combining to form a single large sphere of radiant energy.

"Hey.. Hey! I think I have it! This is supposed to be happening right?" Galivinth excitedly speaks out. In the moment, the visual he sees fades until it's completely gone under his broken focus.

"Wait, no.. It's gone?"

"Settle down and keep focus. It's still there, but you have to keep your focus to see it again." Naeth calmly advises, to which his cousin follows through with. The visual of the orb of energy returns almost immediately.

"Okay, I see it again. Now what?"

"I pass judgment, of course. And I have to admit that I'm not too surprised. Your accumulated magic energy seems to have struck its limit already... That's barely enough to cast tier 2 spells." Naeth explains, noting that the sphere in his relative's palm was roughly the size of a softball. Maybe a tad larger.

"Oh... Is that like, really bad?"

"Bad? It's atrocious. The average cryonean without Yvetal's blessing can gather enough for at least tier 3 casting. Truth be told? I didn't think it could be so small.." Naeth casually ridicules.

"Well, show me a comparison. How big is yours?"

"Watch and be amazed." A smug grin abruptly forms across Naeth's lips as he positions his hand beside Galivinth's. In a similar fashion, though far faster, he begins drawing energy to his palm. However instead of white, the coloration of the tiny orbs were a deep radiant blue. By the time he finishes gathering to his limit, his sphere grows to the size of a basketball. Shimmering with a crystal blue light that Galivinth can't help but to wince from.

"Jesus Christ, that's bright… But also pretty cool!" 

"Very impressive, isn't it? I'm capable of tier 5 sorcery thanks to the blessing. But admittedly, I've no ambition with this potential. I've mostly been learning to manipulate the element of fire on various scales and in many ways. Haven't bothered with much else."

"Oh, that sounds kind of interesting. Why fire, though?" Galivinth questions.

"Because it's fierce and effective, especially in combat. It just feels satisfying to burn something. I've also learned to integrate it within my Muay Thai training. Something I do when I need to pass the time." Naeth answers.

"Ah, I see. The more I learn about you, the less I understand about you..."

"Well, there'll be time for elaborating later. At the time being, let's focus on getting you familiarized with casting. We'll start with a tier one fire spell." Naeth proposes and shuts his hand, dispersing the collected energy upon doing so.

"Try Fi-Ah."

"Fi-ah?" Galivinth repeats, initiating the process of casting. The orb of energy within his palm morphs. Flattening to take the form of a rotating red neon ring, one that shoots out a baseball-sized projectile skyward, startling the teen.

"Guh!? I wasn't expecting that!"

"Relax, it was one of the easiest incantations. Don't get so worked up. And as you can tell, casting is relatively easy for the most part. You just need to remember incantations. A lot of them, or a select few. Depends on what you're hoping to do."

"I'm just curious of what the tier 2 version is like. What's the incantation for it?"

"Already ready to explore the next level, huh? Just be mindful not to accidentally set yourself on fire. Repeat the first step of drawing magic." Upon Naeth's instruction, Galivinth focuses on his palm once more and accumulates all that he can into it.

"Alright. Now be careful, okay? It's at least three times larger than Fi-Ah. The incantation is Fi-Ara." 

"Got it." And with that, Galivinth adjusts to aim his open palm in a random direction. Right arm extended, left hand bracing its forearm.

"Remember... Be care--"

"Fi-Ara!" Galivinth exclaims, neglecting his relatives' warning with a misguided sense of thinking he knows better. With a roaring and trembling eruption, a flaming projectile the size of three cannonballs combined into one discharges from the teen's palm. Nowhere near as fast as a bullet, but easily capable of covering more ground quicker than a sprinter on foot. 

The caster observes with a delighted smile, while Naeth watches nonchalantly with a brow raised. The latter of the two boys can already see how it'll end. 

Then, with a thunderous impact, the large fireball strikes a parked car in the distance with great force. Enough to cave in the side and shatter every single window, and also send it tumbling on its side before it's cut off by the surface of the old abandoned building that sits at the corner of the block. The totaled and burning vehicle settles upright on the sidewalk - all much to Galivinth's horror.

"Oh my God..." Galivinth breathes out as the depth of his chest fills with dreadful guilt.

"I tried to warn you."

"I didn't think it'd go so far... I am in so much trouble."

"Possibly. I don't think anyone saw what happened, though. We can feign ignorance and leave elsewhere for a bit." Naeth suggests as the natives of the neighborhood begin stepping out of their homes to investigate the source of the explosive commotion. 

"No... No. I... I'd rather be up front about it. I didn't know what I was doing, but I still did it." Galivinth nervously reasons.

"Very admirable of you, cousin." Naeth praises. As incoherent murmuring begin and gradually ascend in volume, an older man comes rushing out of his home. A veteran who lives across the street in one of the single floor houses-for-rent beside the abandoned building. Short brushed over blonde hair, the bit of wrinkles and creases in his face give a hint he's at least forty. He stands at 6'1 in height, his complexion fair, and his demeanor typically uptight and influenced by his lengthy time in the military. A friendly old man, but one known for his habit of rambling about stories from his time serving the country.

He, unfortunately, was the owner of that wrecked burning chunk of metal everyone was staring at.

"Those Godda-... AAAUGH! Dang ole flippin' filthy Russians!!" The old man bellows at the top of his lungs while gripping the tongue of his baseball cap and tossing it angrily down to the ground. As he glares daggers at his former vehicle, the two boys cross the street and pass through the crowd to confront him. Galivinth approaches until he's just a meter away from the old timer.

"Mr. Ankerts..." Galivinth reluctantly calls out to get the veteran's attention. He does so without fail. The blonde elder immediately turns toward him with a silent stare.

"I... Was the one who blew up your car."

"Eh!? How do you figure?" The old man questions with a skeptical frown.

"I kinda'... Hit it... With...a fire...work?" Galivinth answers with a distorted truth, believing any mentioning of magic wouldn't be taken remotely seriously.